Pets and Such

In my home I have several pets.  Ok I have A LOT  of pets.

There is Brooke  our 4 1/2 year old Anatolian Shepard mix. She is a pound rescue. She had been picked up as a stray and had been at the shelter for about a month when we came along.  Brooke was about 9 months old when she came to live with us.  Technically she is my daughters dog, but I inherited her when my child went away to college.  Brooke is a happy girl, always happy to see anyone (she can look fierce to strangers, which is her job) she meets, and has a perpetual smile on her face.

And there is Bailee, who came to live with us a little
over a year ago.

She had been picked up as a stray alongside a busy highway. Rather then go to the shelter she stayed with some friends who tried to locate her owners, after a month  she came home to us.  She was about 2-3 months old at that time, so we had the joy of house training her. She is so smart, and very manipulative.  Some how she always gets her way, if its a belly rub, cookies or being hand feed each meal.  She really has me trained

 

April 1, 2009  

September 14, 2009      

  

 Next come the fish.  Years ago in another life (it seems) I raised and sold Betta fish.  About a year ago the itch came on to try it again. The only problem is that I was not able to find any buyers when they were young so I have seven males, and a tank with 8 females. This pic is before they were separated into different tanks.

Read all about the Betta's beginning here    read about the tiny fry here The Betta's are a month old in this post Most recent update on Betta's here

The most recent addition to my slew is Usdi which is Cherokee for Baby.

 When he first  came to be with me I thought he was a baby rat, so his nickname is Ratbaby. 

Usdi is a baby Meadow Vole. This picture is slightly larger than life size

Usdi came to us via Bailee on March 24th. His eyes 

were barely open, ears still pressed against his head. He was wet from being in the dogs mouth, very cold, and very frightened.  I did not know what to do at first so went online and researched and to my surprise realized I had all the necessary items to keep little Usdi alive. 

So very adorable!

Here is Usdi at one week of living with us.  His ears are up, and he is growing hair on his paws.
He does not hold still on my hand long enough to get a good picture.

Here he is in his Critter Carrier that  I purchased from  MarinahLynn on Etsy . She did a fabulous job and even made it with room for Usdi to grow.

This was his first home, a little Critter Cage that I just happened to have on hand.  Once he became a little more active  I decided to see about a larger enclosure so he could better exercise.

So I brought in a 10 gallon tank that I happened to have in storage and put his smaller and familiar home inside of it.  Perfect fit!

Here he is getting ready to explore his  new digs.  Usdi was a little unsure at first, but has now very much made it his own.

A few minutes after exploring he stopped to look out the window.  Wonder what he is thinking about.

Here is his new home, complete with water bottle (which he has not yet discovered) and a wheel (which he has discovered and enjoys) .
Take note of the water bottle cap that has milk in it.  For the first week he was here I fed him about every 3-5 hours with an eye dropper.  He is now drinking and eating on his own.  I put some milk in the bottle cap and came back a few hours later to find it dry.

Usdi is quite content in his new home, and growing up so fast.   He will be slightly smaller than a softball when fully grown.  A little round bundle of furriness... who is currently content  in his Critter Carrier on my lap.   He is a smart little guy, comes to his name, and very much has his own mind and personality.




So there is the story of my pets.
Oh did I mention I have five bird feeders with seed, three humming bird feeders, and three squirrel feeders?
♥It would be safe to say that  I love animals♥